Bold Strokes Books

Thanks, veinglory. Looks like they have a solid niche. Good for them.

tri

This might be a dumb question and forgive my ignorance on it, but when they mean general fiction does it still need to be LGBT related? Or do they take straight romance too?

ADD: I've read over several of their blurbs and I still couldn't find the answer.

"Bold Strokes Books offers a diverse collection of LesbianGayBiTransQueer general and genre fiction."

So in both cases it needs to be LesbianGayBiTransQueer. (If there are any books on their website that are not LesbianGayBiTransQueer, I can't find them.)

veinglory said:

"Bold Strokes Books offers a diverse collection of LesbianGayBiTransQueer general and genre fiction."

So in both cases it needs to be LesbianGayBiTransQueer. (If there are any books on their website that are not LesbianGayBiTransQueer, I can't find them.)

Click to expand...

Okay that's what I figured after studying them a little more. Thanks, V.

Yes that's what I thought when I looked at the site too. That is just meant it didn't have to be romance, but still had to be LGBT

gingerwoman said:

...it didn't have to be romance, but still had to be LGBT

Click to expand...

But they require some amount of sexual content, right? I seem to recall from their BSB Genre/Mystery Section (which is what I was interested in) they say something like: "it's up to you whether your MC falls in love or just into bed," which I took to mean they expected some measure of moderate to high heat.

My ms only has a very sad blow job right at the middle and a few ersatz kisses at the end. So I didn't submit to them.

Now y'all are making me wish I had!

JohnnyGottaKeyboard said:

But they require some amount of sexual content, right?

Click to expand...

I quite enjoyed this book from BSB, and I don't remember it having any sexual content...however, I could be wrong about that as my memory is shit these days. If it had any, it certainly didn't have much. MC is in a serious relationship though.

One question, that may seem a little ridiculous... but their style guidelines are (perfectly reasonable but) EXTREMELY specific. Does this mean that they either accept your MS as is or reject it? Or do they edit for things like this? It's not too hard to do a find and replace to make sure you've got "Good night" instead of "Goodnight" (AFAIK, either is correct... but whatever. *Most* of what they have listed wouldn't change the reading experience one way or the other), but everyone misses *something.*

The fact that they expect the author to get a "professional copy editor" for any foreign language is fairly worrisome too... what constitutes a professional copy editor? I mean, anyone can set up a website and offer to do things like that. That doesn't mean they're qualified to do it, and it kind of makes it sound like they expect the author to have PAID someone to edit their book, regardless of whether or not their beta readers might be equally qualified.

A lot of things about them sound great... but it kind of sounds like they don't edit for big picture things, and might not line edit or copy edit either? Am I reading this wrong? Do they offer substantial enough editing to make it worth giving them their slice of the profits?

hikarinotsubasa said:

A lot of things about them sound great... but it kind of sounds like they don't edit for big picture things, and might not line edit or copy edit either? Am I reading this wrong? Do they offer substantial enough editing to make it worth giving them their slice of the profits?

Click to expand...

If you check out the "Publishing FAQs" on the website (http://www.boldstrokesbooks.com/bsb-publishing-faq.html) you'll find the answers to your questions, including:

6) Is every book edited in the same way? Just the opposite! Each manuscript is individually evaluated in terms of style, genre requirements, content, and technical merit, and specific guidelines are discussed with the author. The goal of editing is to highlight an author’s individual voice, advance the author’s technical craft, and present the strongest work possible to the marketplace.
7) How many editors will I work with? An author may work with one or two editors while preparing a manuscript for publication. Some editors specialize in aspects of story editing, while others are experts in the rules of copyediting. After the senior editor has reviewed the editorial needs, she will determine the editorial pathway to publication.


(Full disclosure: I edit for Bold Strokes Books.)


Cheers,
Ruth

I've got a friend with BSB, and she loves them. They're definitely small, so don't expect to rocket up the NYTimes Bestseller list, but they're nice, helpful and expanding, and they've definitely got a good niche foothold, especially in the Northeast.

JohnnyGottaKeyboard said:

But they require some amount of sexual content, right? I seem to recall from their BSB Genre/Mystery Section (which is what I was interested in) they say something like: "it's up to you whether your MC falls in love or just into bed," which I took to mean they expected some measure of moderate to high heat.

My ms only has a very sad blow job right at the middle and a few ersatz kisses at the end. So I didn't submit to them.

Now y'all are making me wish I had!

Click to expand...

Her books have only implied sexual content. A kiss, a nudge and then the scene ends. There's no erotic requirement, as far as I know.

Also, I like that you have not just a sad blowjob, but a very sad blowjob.

zegota said:

Also, I like that you have not just a sad blowjob, but a very sad blowjob.

Click to expand...

I consciously set out to make it one of the saddest blow jobs ever.

BTW: I signed the book with them a month or so ago. I got a huge ("HUGE" at least versus other small pubs I've worked with) welcome package explaining the editing process and what would be available to me for marketing and what would be required* of me re: marketing. I am awaiting the first round of edits now...

*ETA: "[R]equired" is, perhaps, not the right word. Certainly nothing was solicited from me nor demanded. Pardon my caution, but I've been heartily misunderstood online lately!

Any new information or thoughts on this publisher? I attended the Boston Pride festival today, and Bold Strokes had a booth there, with three or four of their authors in attendance. I'm giving serious thought to trying a YA with Bold Strokes, but wanted to see if anyone has good, bad, or neutral feedback about experiences with them.

KimJo said:

Any new information or thoughts on this publisher? I attended the Boston Pride festival today, and Bold Strokes had a booth there, with three or four of their authors in attendance. I'm giving serious thought to trying a YA with Bold Strokes, but wanted to see if anyone has good, bad, or neutral feedback about experiences with them.

Click to expand...

I never know what to say in these situations. I've worked with three publishers and these guys were very professional. I worked well with my story editor (he may tell a different story). Communications were timely regarding the cover and initial marketing. I have a second book coming out with them in November. They had a booth at Sacramento Pride (near me) but I had a prior engagement. They tend to work the pride circuit is my feeling, so I hope to staff the booth in SF. If you have specific questions I'd be happy to answer.

Maryn said:

I'd also be interested in what sort of sales people have enjoyed in the year since this was under active discussion.

Click to expand...

My book was released in February, so the report for that first quarter is not due to me until July 31. I know I never hit number 1 on Amazon. ;p

Any updates on this publisher?

Do they pay (and on time)? What do they do for marketing and what does the author have to do for marketing?

As a person who has read their books at least, I've noticed they put their books up on Netgalley and generally get a pretty good number of reviews. So in the marketing area there's that. And they're a well known name for lesfic. Additionally, that whole thing about the author getting their work copyrighted seems to be gone now--FAQ says BSB will get the copyright for the author in the author's name on publication now.
There are three things about them which give me pause, though:
-Ebooks mostly cost 9.99, which is quite a bit. I guess that would be standard for a big 5 publisher but for an indie queer book... still, lesfic prices are kind of inflated as compared to m/m, so.
-The first option clause in the FAQ. Not sure exactly what that means. But if it means you'd have to send them your next book no matter what, I'd be a little hesitant.
-Their covers really range from "wow, amazing" to "what even."
I'm considering submitting to them now, but I'm not sure whether I will or not.

Convenientalias said:

Ebooks mostly cost 9.99, which is quite a bit. I guess that would be standard for a big 5 publisher but for an indie queer book... still, lesfic prices are kind of inflated as compared to m/m, so.

Click to expand...

For better or worse, this is pretty standard for niche publishers in my experience.

Convenientalias said:

The first option clause in the FAQ. Not sure exactly what that means. But if it means you'd have to send them your next book no matter what, I'd be a little hesitant.

Click to expand...

I believe they specify right of first refusal, meaning you need to at least let them look at your subsequent books (I *believe* this only applies to LGBTish books you write, but I haven't seen a recent contract or anything). Assuming a standard contract, though, that doesn't mean you have to *accept* any offer they make. Just that you have to let them make one.

I’ve been a lurker here for years and have never posted before, and now my need for feedback has won over my desire to observe from the shadows. My manuscript has been under consideration at Bold Strokes Books for 11 weeks. Their submission guidelines indicate a 14-16 week timeframe to receive an answer, so I totally understand I’m still well within that. I just wondered if anyone has experience with them: Does the pace at which they give you an answer correlate to how excited they are about the project? They are my dream publisher, and it still feels unreal that they are considering my story. If they publish my book, I will probably never stop joy dancing.

You cant really read anything into timing, good luck

Thank you, veinglory! I’ll just keep my fingers crossed and hope for the best.

I’m happy to announce that I signed a contract with Bold Strokes Books a couple weeks ago, and they will be publishing my book in Fall 2019! Here’s the timeline, from start to finish:
August 25: I sent them my query packet.
August 26: They confirmed receipt and said they were putting my manuscript on their schedule for review. They said I’d have an answer in 14-16 weeks.
November 28: They made me an offer for publication. It was about 13 1/2 weeks after my query.

Good for you, RebelGeek! And welcome here. We need all the buds we can get.

Thank you so much, Triceretops!

Any more info on them?